ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION

Adjudication Reference:  ADJ-00057481

Parties:

Complaint:

Date of Adjudication Hearing:  29/08/2025

Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer:  Aideen Collard

Procedure:

This complaint under Section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994 was referred under Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 to the Workplace Relations Commission (hereinafter ‘WRC’) on 11th March 2025.  Following delegation to me by the Director General, I inquired into this complaint and gave the Parties an opportunity to be heard and to present any relevant evidence.  This complaint was heard remotely on 29th August 2025.  The Complainant was in attendance and unrepresented.  The Respondent was represented by Mr Peter Gilfedder on behalf of IBEC.  Witnesses were in attendance on behalf of both Parties.  There were no facts in issue requiring sworn evidence to be taken.  The hearing was held in public and the Parties were made aware that their names would be published.  Both Parties made submissions and all of the relevant documentation pertaining to the Complainant’s employment including her CE Scheme Participant Agreement was submitted by the Respondent.

Background:

The Complainant contended that the Respondent had unilaterally changed her terms of employment without notification in writing.  The Respondent contended that there no basis for this complaint.

Summary of Complainant’s Case:

The Complainant had been in employment with the Respondent under a CE Scheme from 1st October 2018 before transferring to employment with another Charity from 28th March 2025.  She was employed as a Shop Assistant in one of its charity shops.  She contended that following a new Manager being assigned to her shop in or around August 2024, some of her duties including banking, opening/closing the shop and paperwork had been taken away from her without any explanation or in writing.  She had felt aggrieved that after eight years of loyal service to the Respondent, the trust between the Parties had gone.  She had raised a grievance in relation to differences with her Manager which was not upheld at any stage.

This Adjudication Officer outlined the provisions of Sections 3 & 5 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994 and asked the Complainant to identify what particulars of her written statement of terms of employment or contract of employment had been changed without written notification as set out within Section 3 of the Act.  The Complainant was unable to identify any of the particulars listed therein.  She was afforded a period of six-weeks post-hearing to avail of professional advice and make further submissions.  She reverted seeking a decision without providing any further clarification on this issue.

Summary of Respondent’s Case:

A detailed written submission was furnished on behalf of the Respondent as supplemented with oral submissions, contending that this complaint was unfounded, frivolous and vexatious and/or misconceived and setting out relevant caselaw.  In particular, it was contended that the Complainant had not identified any particulars of her written statement or contract of employment that had been changed without written notification as provided by Sections 3 & 5 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994.

Findings and Conclusions:

It is necessary to set out the relevant statutory provisions before applying them to the facts adduced.  In relation to the terms of employment to be provided to an employee in writing upon the commencement of their employment, Section 3(1) & (1A) of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994 provides:

“Written statement of terms of employment:

3(1)  An employer shall, not later than one month after the commencement of an employee’s employment with the employer, give or cause to be given to the employee a statement in writing containing the following particulars of the terms of the employee’s employment, that is to say-…

(fa) a reference to any registered employment agreement or employment regulation order which applies to the employee and confirmation of where the employee may obtain a copy of such agreement or order,…

(ga) that the employee may, under section 23 of the National Minimum Wage Act, 2000, request from the employer a written statement of the employee’s average hourly rate of pay for any pay reference period as provided in that section,

(h) the length of the intervals between the times at which remuneration is paid, whether a week, a month or any other interval,…

(j) any terms or conditions relating to paid leave (other than paid sick leave),

(k) any terms or conditions relating to- (i) incapacity for work due to sickness or injury and paid sick leave, and (ii) pensions and pension schemes,

(l) the period of notice which the employee is required to give and entitled to receive (whether by or under statute or under the terms of the employee’s contract of employment) to determine the employee’s contract of employment or, where this cannot be indicated when the information is given, the method for determining such periods of notice,

(m) a reference to any collective agreements which directly affect the terms and conditions of the employee’s employment including, where the employer is not a party to such agreements, particulars of the bodies or institutions by whom they were made,

(n) the training entitlement, if any, provided by the employer,

(o) in the case of a temporary contract of employment, the identity of the user undertakings (within the meaning of Directive 2008/104/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 20085 on temporary agency work), when and as soon as known, and

(p) if the work pattern of an employee is entirely or mostly unpredictable, the statement shall inform the employee of - (i) the principle that the work schedule is variable, the number of guaranteed paid hours and the remuneration for work performed in addition to those guaranteed hours, (ii) the reference hours and days within which the employee may be required to work, and (iii) the minimum notice period to which the employee is entitled to before the start of a work assignment and, where applicable, the deadline for notification in accordance with section 17 of the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997, and

(q) where it is the responsibility of the employer, the identity of the social security institutions receiving the social insurance contributions attached to the contract of employment and any protection relating to social security provided by the employer;

(1A) Without prejudice to subsection (1), an employer shall, not later than 5 days after the commencement of an employee’s employment with the employer, give or cause to be given to the employee a statement in writing containing the following particulars of the terms of the employee’s employment, that is to say:

(a) the full names of the employer and the employee,

(b) the address of the employer in the State or, where appropriate, the address of the principal place of the relevant business of the employer in the State or the registered office (within the meaning of the Companies Act 2014),

(c) in the case of a temporary contract of employment, the expected duration thereof or, if the contract of employment is for a fixed term, the date on which the contract expires,

(d) the remuneration, including the initial basic amount, any other component elements, if applicable, indicated separately, the frequency and method of payment of the remuneration to which the employee is entitled and the pay reference period for the purposes of the National Minimum Wage Act 2000,

(e) the number of hours which the employer reasonably expects the employee to work- (i) per normal working day, and (ii) per normal working week,

(f) where sections 4B to 4E (in so far as they are in operation) of the Payment of Wages Act 1991 apply to the employer, the employer’s policy on the manner in which tips or gratuities and mandatory charges (within the meaning of section 1 of that Act) are treated,

(g) the place of work or, where there is no fixed or main place of work, a statement specifying that the employee is employed at various places or is free to determine his or her place of work or to work at various places,

(h) either- (i) the title, grade, nature or category of work for which the employee is employed, or (ii) a brief specification or description of the work,

(i) the date of commencement of the employee’s contract of employment,

(j) any terms or conditions relating to hours of work (including overtime),

(k) where a probationary period applies, its duration and conditions.”

In relation to an employer’s obligation to notify changes to terms of employment in writing to an employee, Section 5 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994 provides as follows:

“Notification of changes:

5(1) Subject to subsection (2), whenever a change is made or occurs in any of the particulars of the statement furnished by an employer under section 3, 4 or 6, the employer shall notify the employee in writing of the nature and date of the change as soon as may be thereafter, but not later than-

(a) the day on which the change takes effect, or

(b) where the change is consequent on the employee being required to work outside the State for a period of more than 1 month, the time of the employee’s departure.

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply in relation to a change occurring in provisions of statutes or instruments made under statute, other than a registered employment agreement or employment regulation order, or of any other laws or of any administrative provisions or collective agreements referred to in the statement given under section 3 or 4.”

I have examined the Complainant’s CE Scheme Participant Agreement with the Respondent including the description of her work as defined by Section 3(1A)(h) of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994 and I am satisfied that the changes subject to this complaint did not constitute any changes to her contract.  I am therefore satisfied on the balance of probabilities that no changes to her terms of employment as defined by Section 3 requiring written notification pursuant to Section 5 of the Act have been identified.

Decision:

Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 requires that I make a decision in relation to this complaint.  Based upon the aforesaid reasoning, I find this complaint not to be well-founded.

Dated:   17th of December 2025.

Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer:  Aideen Collard

Key Words:  Sections 3 & 5 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994 - notification in writing of changes to employee’s terms of employment by employer - whether changes fall within Section 3